Barambah lure tester and big cod guru Dan Quilty gives us a rundown on the new Barambah Bidjiwong and Manic Budgie.
After seeing the first Facebook video of Matt Fraser’s Barambah dragon I simply had to get my hands on one. Little did I know what I was about to start would become an obsession with these Murray Cod magnets.
After having success on lures that didn’t resemble anything found in the Australian landscape I was pretty excited to receive my first ‘Aussie inspired’ water dragon. I honestly couldn’t believe the fine, intricate detail Matt puts into his handmade lures. It was honestly hard to seperate it from the real thing.
So, off I went, like a kid on Christmas morning with my new toy down to my favourite waterway. The first thing that grabbed me was the unbelievably realistic action and how it rarely fouled up on the cast.
Then out she came, a cheeky 80cm + Murray Cod cruised up behind, nosed up to the lure and took a closer look before giving it a quick bump and turning away, swimming back into the depths.
With the old heart pounding and hands shaking I put in another cast in the general vicinity. Like from a scene in a movie he came cruising up behind the lure like he was guarding his territory. As the Dragon neared my feet the temptation was too much for him, I watched his mouth open, the water implode and BOOF, all within a rod length of the bank I claimed a cracking 84cm Murray Cod.
And that’s where it all started!
The Early Days
Over the following year, Matt continued to ply his trade and brought out more of his masterpieces, including the Barambah Cray, JD Cod and my personal favourites, the Bluey and Manic Budgie. Lucky enough, I managed to have decent success on all the models with my biggest and most consistent fish coming on the Bluey and JD Cod.
It was during this time the rest of the country also cottoned on and it wasn’t long before the Goodoo Nation started to pay attention to Matt’s crafty creations. Funnily enough most anglers were so impressed with their finish they were sent straight to the pool room.
With no surprises the Barambah Dragon took home the best wake bait award from the Lure and Fly Expo and then backing it up the following year with the Manic Budgie.
With a growing trophy
More Bang for your Boof
After 12-months of hard work, dedication and design, Matt came out with his first range of mass produced Barambah lures for the Aussie market.
The first range range included the Bidjiwong 200, which is aboriginal for water dragon and of course the Manic Budgie – a personal favourite of mine in the original timber budgie.
Once the news broke that the new range was on its way the excitement levels kicked up a few gears. Those levels then began red lining when I found out that Matt sent me one of the first Budgie and Bidjiwongs prototypes to test out.
My first thoughts while opening the new boxes was just how cool the new packaging was. The packaging had some very cool graphics and accompanied by a full set of instructions giving you a comprehensive run down on each lure.
Once I finally got to the lures there was no surprise to see that they both looked identical to their timber predecessors, but with a few extras. The first thing I noticed on the initial inspection was the extra bib and screws and even a little screwdriver to change them over.
This was a huge advantage, essentially doubling the application and value of the one lure – more bang for your boof!
The Proof is in the Pudding
The following morning eager as a beaver I headed off for a flick hitting the water just on day break. My first dilemma for the morning was what to use first, the Budgie or Bidjiwong – in wake or paddler.
I went with the budgie with the wake bib and as I was tying on the Budgie I was thinking it can’t be as good as its timber cousin, but boy was I wrong.
With a nice wide wobble and a super loud rattle, it only took a handful of casts to tempt a very fat and healthy 90s model that emerged like Jaws, minus the music, from under the lure.
Unfortunately the big girl destroyed the bib, but, luckily I had a spare bib. However, with little fuss and around half-a-minute later she was rigged and ready to head back out not battle.
Feeling pumped with the fish from the morning I sent a pic to Matt with a some details about the bibs, not knowing that Matt was actually overseas putting the final touches on his new range.
Matt called me straight away from overseas to ask about the bibs. In total I’d busted three bibs all in a similar spot. Without hesitation, Matt went back to the drawing board and redesigned both bibs with extra reinforced ribs and then had all 10,000 redone in polycarbonate. To say he’s a perfectionist is an understatement.
After a short set back from redoing all the bibs Matt sent me a couple more new and improved lures to test out. Over the next half a dozen fishing trips I put both lures through their paces, smashing them into rocks, trees and whatever else I could hit (Matt’s orders of course). Not only did the bibs hold up a treat, but I also managed to sneak in a few quality fish along the way.
